The Castle in the Pyrenees

Through five intense years in the 1970s, Steinn and Solrunn had a happy life together. Then they suddenly parted ways, for reasons that are unclear to both.

In the summer of 2007 they meet again on a balcony of an old wooden hotel by a fjord in western Norway. It is a place they both have fond memories from and their meeting turns out to be fateful. But is it purely coincidental that they meet at that particular spot at that particular time.

Over a couple of weeks that summer they write emails to each other and it becomes clear that they have been living with very different interpretations of their shared past...

“"What do you believe about the things to which you don't know the answers? This is the central question in Jostein Gaarder's new novel. . . . Gaarder rehearses his characters' positions compellingly and their plight is moving."”

From the author of Sophie's World, two ex-lovers bump into each other after 30 years, sparking a chain of charming philosophical email correspondence GRAZIA
What do you believe about the things to which you don't know the answers? This is the central question in Jostein Gaarder's new novel... Gaarder rehearses his characters' positions compellingly and their plight is moving TLS
This latest novel from the Norwegian intellectual and best-selling author of Sophie's World delves into the meaning of our existence, this time taking inspiration from a painting by Renee Magritte, which is the title of the novel... Both a philosophical study and love story surrounded by a mysterious incident, the novel can be enjoyed on a variety of levels given the simple beauty of the characters' discussions PRESS ASSOCIATION

Jostein Gaarder is the author of SOPHIE'S WORLD, a huge bestseller in over 40 countries. He was born in Oslo in 1952 and lives there now with his wife and two sons.

Through five intense years in the 1970s, Steinn and Solrunn had a happy life together. Then they suddenly parted ways, for reasons that are unclear to both.In the summer of 2007 they meet again on a balcony of an old wooden hotel by a fjord in western Norway. It is a place they both have fond memories from and their meeting turns out to be fateful. But is it purely coincidental that they meet at that particular spot at that particular time.Over a couple of weeks that summer they write emails to each other and it becomes clear that they have been living with very different interpretations of their shared past...

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